Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country. – Jeremiah 29:5
Ever wondered if you could make a yummy, wholesome, family-friendly dinner from locally sourced foods that was something other than salad?
This is the challenge I gave myself when I visited Farm2Home15 at P. Allen Smith’s farm earlier this month and had the opportunity to shop at the Arkansas Grown and Made Market.
Here is what I ended up with:
A Variety of Squashes
Spanish Rice Mix made from locally grown rice
All-natural Angus beef, hormone and antibiotic-free
Garlic and Chive Fromage Blanc
and I picked up a bottle of sangria from an Arkansas vineyard (yep, we have those) at the grocery store.
Using those ingredients and very little else, I settled on the following menu:
Sautéed Veggies (made by Miles by the way)
Spanish Rice (using the mix I had purchased)
Garlic and Curry Beef Sliders (To make the meat patties for the sliders, I used this recipe as a guide and modified it a bit, using 2 tbsp. of grits instead of breadcrumbs, adding some diced garlic, along with 2 eggs to help bind the meat. I spread the fromage blanc on the curry rolls, added some arugula, and tomato and voila! An amazing sandwich was created.)
SIDENOTE: This was my first time using all natural ground beef and I couldn’t believe how much further it went. In the picture of the recipe I found, I noticed that the regular store-bought meat shrunk to half the size once cooked. Our beef on the other hand, only shrunk about 1/4″ around the perimeter if that. I used 1 1/2 lbs. and we had enough beef for twelve sliders, while the recipe called for 1 lb of beef for just four sliders. The difference was AMAZING. I know that all natural meat cost more per pound than store-bought, but the fact that it goes so much further means that it is actually the better deal – monetarily and health wise and environmentally.
To complete the “local and homespun” theme, I picked wildflowers from our yard for the table centerpiece and added them to a small milk pitcher.
I am pleased to report that EVERYONE loved the meal. Even my most finicky eater.
Eating local is important to our family for a variety of reasons, one of them being our faith. As a family we believe that one way we are to Glorify God is to invest in, support, take pride in, and enjoy the community that we live in. Eating local is one we can support and enjoy our community.
As it says in one of my favorite passages of the bible (Jeremiah 29:4-14) Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country.
Don’t mind if I do.
Cheers and Blessings friends!
Leave a Reply